The other day, I was driving past a place called Twin Peaks which is located about 10 minutes from my house.  Yes, it’s probably the type of place you would imagine.  I’ve never set foot inside, but I have heard from many sources that it’s basically a lot like Hooters with a different uniform for the staff.  They have a giant, electronic sign out front that advertises special events, drink specials…you get the picture.   You can’t miss it from the highway or the toll road that intersects it.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this message appear:  ”KIDS EAT FREE ON TUESDAYS”.  

Um..what?!?

As a father of four, I can’t even imagine what would ever compel me to take my kids inside this place.  Maybe if my cell phone died, and my car died, and every other place nearby was closed?  Of course, there are even more surprising places that I could have seen this ad, but we won’t go down that road here.  I would prefer to let this marinate for a second.

I would love to hear the conversations that could lead a family to take advantage of this special offer:

HUSBAND: Hey honey, there’s a place around the corner that offers free kids’ meals tonight.  Wanna check it out?

WIFE: Sure, which place is it?

HUSBAND: Um, well, it’s actually called Twin Peaks.

WIFE: There aren’t any mountains here.  What an unusual name.  Wait…

Anyway, you get the picture.

It seems to be that the more compelling marketing move would be to just say, “Double Your Pleasure with Two Waitresses Per Table Every Tuesday” or just plain “Girls in Skimpy Clothes Will Feed You AND Your Ego”.  Sorry – that’s a little mean, I guess.

On the flip side of the coin, I am going to compliment Wal-Mart now.  I realize that this isn’t considered P.C. these days, but it will help me to illustrate the point of this post.

Throughout the Christmas season, I heard and saw many ads for Wal-Mart, and they seemed to really understand their audience.  The primary theme was this: Christmas Costs Less at Wal-Mart

I saw a handful of negative remarks about this slogan, mainly from those who probably already hate Wal-Mart.  The complaint centered around rampant commercialism of the season, etc.

The reality is that Wal-Mart succinctly captured the essence of what we are going through as a country with our current economy.  I thought it was brilliant, but that’s just me.  Kudos to the ad execs who came up with this simple idea – I bet it resulted in untold millions in extra spending across the country from a cash-strapped populus.  Sure, it’s blunt and to the point.  It’s also appealing for those of us who want to make the holidays a special time for our kids.

In a nutshell, I would recommend giving a good deal of thought to who your audience really is.  Perhaps you can think of your ideal customer, then tailor everything you produce to capture that person’s interest, rather than trying to hit every niche.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/3734970733/